Before the outbreak of the Great War, George Wilson was selling
newspapers in the streets of Edinburgh. He had already served as a
private in the Highland Light Infantry, and, being in the Reserve, was
called out at the beginning of the great struggle. In a very short time
he was fighting in France with his old regiment.
In the middle of September 1914, the H.L.I. were hard at work trying
to check and drive back the Germans not very far from Paris. During
the fighting in one quarter, some of our men were greatly worried by a
German machine-gun which was posted in a wood; and Private Wilson made
up his mind to do what he could to silence the gun.
Taking another private with him, he set out on his errand. The two men
were able to come quite close to the enemy’s position, and then, all at
once, Wilson’s comrade fell over with a bullet in his body.
This did not check Wilson in the least, and he went on alone. After a
while he was able to find cover behind some trees. Here he was quite
hidden, and had a good view of the gun which had worried his mates.
From this position he picked off, one by one, the entire crew of the
machine-gun which included an officer and six men. Then he ran forward
and took over the gun, together with a supply of ammunition. For this
piece of splendid work Wilson received the Victoria Cross, which he
well deserved.
His exploit was somewhat like that of Michael O’Leary of the Irish
Guards, except that the latter captured two machine-guns single-handed.
He was a lance-corporal when the great chance came to him, and the
story of how he won the Cross is told by his own quartermaster-sergeant
in the following words:--
“My company was ordered from our trench to keep up a hot rifle and
machine-gun fire across the German trenches and points of cover. After
the rain of bullets and shrapnel had been kept up for twenty minutes,
No. 1 Company was let loose on the left. They came out of the trenches
with a yell, bayonets fixed, and went for the enemy at the double. They
had from 100 to 150 yards to travel, and they went at a tidy pace, but
were easily outstripped by O’Leary. He never looked to see if his mates
were coming, and he must have done pretty near even time over that
patch of ground.
“When he got near the end of one of the German trenches, he dropped,
and so did many others a long way behind him. The enemy had discovered
what was up. A machine-gun was O’Leary’s mark. Before the Germans could
manage to slew it round, and meet the charging men, O’Leary picked off
the whole five of the machine-gun crew.
“Then leaving his mates to capture the gun, he dashed forward to the
second barricade which the Germans were quitting in a hurry and shot
three men. O’Leary came back as cool as if he had been for a walk in
the park, and with two prisoners.” The prisoners were taken because
O’Leary’s shot was exhausted!
A soldier or sailor cannot win the V.C. a second time; but if a man
who holds the medal does another very brave deed he is given an extra
clasp. This distinction was awarded to Captain Martin-Leake of the
Royal Army Medical Corps for continuous bravery during the early months
of the war.
In our very proper admiration for the fighting men, we are a little
apt to overlook the work of that branch of the army to which Captain
Martin-Leake belonged; and this is somewhat unjust.
No section of the British forces did better, more skilful, or more
heroic work than the Medical Corps. After a fight, parties of
stretcher-bearers would be quickly on the scene no matter how great
was the danger to themselves. Many of these brave men were struck down
while engaged in this work of mercy.
The wounded were tenderly lifted, placed upon stretchers and given
first-aid. They were then, without the loss of a moment, taken in motor
ambulances from a collecting station to the base hospitals far away
from the firing line.
Captain Martin-Leake had won his Cross in the South African War for
great bravery shown in tending the wounded under fire; and while
engaged in this splendid work he had been wounded no less than three
times.
He did the same kind of work in the fighting during the Great War. Over
and over again, he went out into the open, careless of shell and rifle
fire, to bring in the wounded or render first-aid. Some of the men whom
he rescued had been shot in storming the enemy’s trenches, and lay
quite near to the parapets; but the brave captain brought several of
them back from the very grasp of the foe.